Getty
The Murray State Racers basketball team will host the Southern Illinois Salukis on Tuesday.
Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
How to Watch Southern Illinois vs Murray State
The game (8 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV anywhere, but you can watch it live on ESPN+
ESPN+ is the digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage of over 1,500 college basketball games this season, plus other live sports every day, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and additional original content (both video and written) all for $4.99 per month.
Or, if you also want the new Disney+ streaming service and Hulu, you can get all three for $12.99 per month, which works out to 25 percent savings.
Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can then watch Southern Illinois vs Murray State live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Southern Illinois vs Murray State Preview
Four days after falling to the Tennessee Volunteers 82-63 in their first road test of the season, the Racers got back into the win column against an overmatched opponent on Saturday, pounding the NAIA’s Brescia Bearcats 114-48 to improve to 2-1.
Murray State shot 42-of-66 (63.6%) from the field, holding Brescia to 17-of-63 (27%) shooting.
Racers guard Chico Carter Jr. came off the bench to score 20 points and dish 9 assists, both game highs. Murray State forward Anthony Smith scored 13 points and collected 14 rebounds in 19 minutes, adding a pair of assists, a block, and a steal.
“Pleased with our effort tonight at both ends of the floor,” Racers head coach Matt McMahon said, according to the Murray Ledger & Times. “I think what really stood out to me was the unselfishness offensively. Really a lot of fun to watch the guys share the ball, make the extra pass, really execute offensively, so we’re on to Southern Illinois on Tuesday.”
He added: “Anthony, I thought really impacted the game with his motor and he had a double-double at halftime, and we didn’t run a single play for him. He just plays so hard and really a great credit to him.”
Murray State and Southern Illinois, who play their home games 116 miles from one another, have met 36 times, dating back to 1929. The Racers have taken the last two clashes to even the series at 18 wins apiece.
“It’s a great rivalry that spans many decades and I hope we’ll just have a monster crowd in here on Tuesday night,” McMahon said, per the Murray Ledger & Times. “A great student crowd and great community support like we always do, to take on a Southern Illinois team.”
The Salukis opened their season with back-to-back victories before dropping three straight, most recently losing to the San Francisco Dons 76-60 at home on Saturday.
Southern Illinois failed to score in the first three minutes as the Dons built a 9-0 lead.
“I’m disappointed tonight,” Southern Illinois head coach Bryan Mullins said, according to The Daily Egyptian. “We didn’t start off the right way. I thought they came out in the first four or five minutes and really played with a little bit of more energy than us.”
San Francisco finished the contest with almost as many offensive rebounds (14) as the Salukis had defensive boards (18).
“It was very tough rebounding the ball,” Salukis guard Aaron Cook said, per The Daily Egyptian. “Their guys were more physical and hungry and they were just more hungry than us tonight.”
Cook, whose 14.8 points per game and 3.4 assists per game lead the Salukis, scored a team-high 13 points to go with 2 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist.